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Pak jeopardizes trade regime: India
By agencies
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Friday, 04 August 2006, 19:30 IST
ISLAMABAD: PakistanÂ’s decision to limit application of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) provisions to India would jeopardize the implementation of the new trade regime and affect the rest of the SAARC countries, High Commissioner to Pakistan, Shivshankar Menon told at the Islamabad Chamber Of Commerce and Industry here.
Instead of using SAFTA to penetrate the Indian market and augment the exports, Pakistan has jeopardized the accord by resorting to such a step, he said.
Pakistan’s notification that SAFTA tariff concessions would be pertinent to only 773 products in the ‘positive list’ for India “is a negotiation of SAFTA jeopardizes its implementation and affects all the contracting parties.”
SAARC Council of Ministers, who met yesterday in Dhaka as per IndiaÂ’s appeal to discuss the issue, has decided to convene again to look into the issue prior to the next summit of the regional groupingÂ’s foreign ministers.
Asked whether India would also agree to Pakistan's denial to accord Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to India, Menon said that it was a broader issue that existed since 1996 when India extended MFN status to Pakistan.